Tinder Swipes Left On Privacy: Take Control of Your Data Now

Seemingly every week, we learn about new app vulnerabilities; now it’s Tinder’s turn. Recently discovered encryption flaws allow outsiders to snoop on your swipes. What exactly is going on with Tinder, and what does it tell us about the privacy landscape? Let’s take a look.

The Tinder Exploit

In late January, Tel Aviv app security firm, Checkmarx, revealed basic HTTPS encryption is not applied to Tinder photos. That means a third party using the same Wi-Fi network as an iOS or Android Tinder user, can see the exact same photos as the user. Moreover, a tech-savvy individual could even insert their own images into a Tinder user’s photostream.

While the photos were the only data in the Tinder app to not receive HTTPS-encryption, the data is not protected well enough. Data leaks allowed Checkmarx to view a user’s swipes and matches in real-time if they were on the same network. The potential consequences of these vulnerabilities are major. Dating can be a deeply personal experience, and a hacker could leverage such sensitive information for their own personal gain.

The Tinder Takeaway

Tinder illustrates how quickly nullified online privacy can be. The dating app does implement encryption, but doesn’t do so properly everywhere. More than anything, this shows that you can never be too cautious with data protection. You’d expect all reputable websites to use HTTPS by now, but that’s just not the case. Simply put, you can’t trust others to keep your data secure. Instead, you must be proactive with encryption yourself.

Naturally, the best way to do this is with a VPN like IPVanish. Our VPN encrypts your device’s network connection, which converts the packets of your web data into unreadable code. This prevents would-be eavesdroppers from prying your personal information out of your connection. It’s a great fail-safe should an app like Tinder place your data in harm’s way. But IPVanish is also much more than a fallback option.

Vulnerable apps are just one piece of the online puzzle; your ISP is another factor altogether. Because they facilitate your broadband access, your ISP has both full visibility and control of your online activity. This power allows ISPs to throttle the bandwidth and place browsing restrictions on users. But thankfully, IPVanish shields you from ISP overreach, so you can break away and enjoy the internet freedom you enjoy.

Don’t have an IPVanish account?Sign up now to cover all of your online privacy needs, from app encryption exploits to ISP annoyances, and everything between.